This policy briefing contains presentations from experts who share their experience of innovative income generation techniques.

Headline Speakers

Phil Halsall
Chief Executive of Lancashire County Cou...

Katherine Kerswell
Former Managing Director Kent County Cou...

Summary

Local government is well rehearsed in the need to increase efficiency and reduce spend, but during these well documented periods of austerity, it is important to look to new measures of income generation.

Generating income is about more than increasing congestion, waste and parking charges. It is about restructuring service models to make use of assets, mutuals, social enterprises, co-payments and trading to ensure that local government can survive hardship to emerge leaner.

This policy briefing explores new and innovative ideas from entrepreneurial councils demonstrating the delivery of new service models, the management of assets and the opportunities available in revenue generation. This briefing will keep your council at the cutting edge of best practice, whilst developing new income streams to enable you to provide better services for your area.

Learning outcomes. Users will:

Look to the future of service models in income generation through the devolution of power and finance autonomy

Analyse the role of new fiscal measures and potential revenue streams

Assess the potential for local government revenue

Explore the value of utilising local government assets for revenue generation

Look to ways in which social enterprises and mutuals can play a role in sourcing new revenue streams

Explore the role of outsourcing in incentivising markets to generate income

Assess the value of co-payments in generating income

Benefit from video presentations demonstrating best practice examples on private-public partnerships in generating vast income and reducing expenditure

Exploration of issues underlying the development of commerciality in local government including the limitations, competition and fairness. It provides an analysis of the available evidence on how local government should be coping with current financial constraints.

What is the most efficient and innovative income generation route for your council: commissioning services, sharing services or perhaps creating a trading company? This comprehensive case study of Westminster City Council's trading arm (Westco) and shared borough service provides a summary of Westco’s services and success and highlights the opportunities for local councils looking to venture into this mode of delivery.

Kent County Council has successfully generated £74m in cash savings over the last four years. Wth a need to generate a further £95M in savings this year alone, Kent demonstrate how an assessment of their commissioning framework and commercial activity resulted in significant financial benefits as well as meeting wider social, economic and environmental responsibilities.

Presentation 6: John Tizard, Director, Centre for Public Service PartnershipsGenerating income through co-payments and bonds

Exploration of the role co-payments and bonds can pay to generate income for local government. Issues of accountability, capacity of the third sector, and equity are raised and examined in the context of changing the way local government work with service providers and the citizen.

Presentation 5: Katherine Kerswell, Group Managing Director, Kent County Council

Kent’s Commercial services: a new strategic commissioning framework - Kent County Council has successfully generated £74m in cash savings over the last four years. Wth a need to generate a further £95M in savings this year alone, Kent demonstrate how an assessment of their commissioning framework and commercial activity resulted in significant financial benefits as well as meeting wider social, economic and environmental responsibilities.